The Secret
by AutobotGuy710
Summary: RID 2015. Post-Series Finale. Now ambassadors to Earth, Bumblebee and his team, along with many others, have finally found themselves in a time of peace. Twelve years later, however, that same peace is shattered by an unexpected revelation in the form of one, unusual human being the government can no longer afford to keep a secret.
1. A Transformation

A/N: OK so another fic, this time more speculative fiction than anything. Yes. Another on the AutobotGuy fic mountain. But I have had a really great idea for this one and it's my first type of fic like this. So hopefully, you'll all enjoy.

NOTE: I'm going by the canon timeline that only two years passed between Prime and RID.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Transformers, of course. Only my OCs.

PAIRINGS: SideswipexStrongarm

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1  
A Transformation  
**

Time passed by in the blink of an optic.

Before Bumblebee knew it, twelve years had passed since they'd taken out the so-called "high council". His team had indeed continued on as Cybertrons first ambassadors to Earth. But they had since been joined in the junkyard by more Autobots, including some members of Team Prime, who also worked as such. It was an initiative that had reunited him with their old ally - William Fowler, who now regulated their roles on Earth again. And in the meantime, they had grown to enjoy a sort of peace.

All was going well until one October morning.

It had happened at the worst possible time, what they would forever refer to as "the incident". It had been mere weeks since they had taken their biggest step of all: revealing themselves to the human population. It had deeply excited Bumblebee, given they would no longer have to be "robots in disguise" and could finally begin to make real strides in the human community. But that was when, to his utter shock, the news finally lit the airwaves - or rather came from Fix-It.

"Bumblebee!" The mech, who had been looking over data pads filled with different reports was quick to snap his attention to the small, wheeled brown minibot. "I have a possible sighting of a re-rat-rogue Decepticon in Jasper, Nevada!"

The words had almost stunned him - almost. Jasper? What were Decepticons doing in Jasper? Jack, Miko, and Raf had already grown and moved away long ago. His optics narrowed slightly, putting his hands on his hips in surprise. "Jasper? Are you sure it was Jasper?" Fix-It nodded vigorously. "What kind of Decepticon sighting?"

"Well, we don't know it's a Decepticon, per-say," Bumblebee looked up as another mech who had made his way to Earth, a former enforcer, Prowl, took steps forward to clarify. "It happened at a human education center. It's suffered some minor cosmetic damage and the humans are currently reporting witnesses say a "small robot" was behind it. It fled the scene and that's where the trail ends."

It was a rather odd notion. A small Decepticon? In a human school? What could he make of that? If it had just been Fix-It he might have wondered if he'd gotten his wires crossed. But when he and Prowl worked together, well, he'd never seen them be wrong. "That's unusual," Bumblebee noted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Do they have any idea where the mech or femme was headed?"

"No! But we managed to triangulate the location of an unknown spark signature near the area," Prowl explained as he motioned for Bumblebee to follow them. "There's something very unusual about it, Bee. I've never seen anything like it, before, after, or during the Great War."

Fix-It piped up with a notion. "It's almost def-det-diluted!" he told him with confusion in his own voice. "It has me stumped. Maybe a Predacon? But I would think we'd at least recognize that signal."

"We definitely would have," Prowl agreed as they approached the main computer, where Bumblebee could now see the odd spark signature for himself. "There's also the possibility a human presence is somehow disrupting it. Though I've never heard of anything like that before..."

Bumblebee arched his optic ridges, looking for the mech to explain. Prowl crossed his arms. "One of the other things being reported is that a young boy went missing at the same time. He was there when "school" let in, and disappeared when the attack happened," Bumblebee looked a bit stunned. "His name's Cole Fletcher. Fourteen Earth years... They're trying to contact his foster parents but having little success."

"All of this from a police report?" Bumblebee asked, Prowl shrugged. "That was filed awfully fast."

"It seemed suspicious to us too," Fix-It agreed. "Should we send someone after it?"

Bumblebee looked thoughtful - definitely perplexed, and unsure of what they would find. But all the same, a strange event like this didn't happen very often. "Go get Sideswipe and Strongarm for me," Bumblebee nodded. "We'll rev up and roll out as soon as they're here."

He had no idea what they were about to encounter. Or how it'd change the course of history as they knew it.

* * *

He was so, so scared.

Cole Fletcher could explain a lot of things, but he couldn't explain this. Even now, on the run, he felt a great deal of fear, not knowing what was going to happen next. What would happen when they found him? Would he be in trouble? Would he be taken into custody? His body trembled slightly as he tried his best to keep himself out of view.

He couldn't go back to school, he decided, not now. And he knew he couldn't go back to his foster home. No, they had no connection to him and would turn him in in a heartbeat. But it wasn't his fault, he told himself. He couldn't have seen this coming. It had come out of nowhere... The whole thing.

For the fifth time, he looked at the reflection in what had been his arm. Looking at the small, grey plated robotic face that looked back. It was not his face, but it was... He still hadn't worked out how exactly he had turned into a robot. One minute he was headed to class, and the next he'd gone metal. And in his panic activated what he could only assume was some sort of weapons system.

He'd always felt different. It had been that way his entire life. From the moment that he could understand what "different" meant he'd felt that way. Like some part of him was just... Not like the other people in the world. But in his wildest dreams he'd never imagined he was... What was he? A human? A robot? A cyborg? He hadn't worked that out yet. He didn't have time to.

No, he had to keep running.

And so, as the sound of police sirens filled the air, he again sprinted out of the alleyway. Using the power of his newly super strong, robotic legs to carry him down the street. "Stop right there!" Someone shouted from behind him. "I've got the Cybertronian on the corner of tenth and Broadway!"

Cole shut his "eyes" panic setting in as he bolted across the nearby street.

That's when the golden muscle car turned a corner to block him off, followed by a red Lamborghini. It happened in a matter of seconds, causing him to stop in his tracks with his hands in the air. What were these? He questioned. Detectives? "Stay where you are Decepticon," whoever was in the yellow car spoke up - making him even further confused. "And hand over whatever weapons you have. This doesn't have to turn violent."

"W-What? Decepticon? What are you talking about!?" Cole sputtered. "My name's-."

"If you're not a Decepticon, what business do you have attacking kids?" The one in the red Lamborghini shouted, causing Cole to cringe. "Nice try. Now where's that kid... Cole? Did you take him too!"

Cole's optics widened, they thought that he had kidnapped himself? No, no, no... His head was spinning in the panic, especially as a third police truck came driving in. "No! Please you don't understand!" he shouted. "I am Cole!"

As if on cue, he found that the near panic had triggered something. He watched in surprise as skin seemed to form back on top of the metal, enveloping him once more until he stood there. Looking as he had before this whole thing had happened. Giving the appearance of a tall, lanky fourteen year old with curly brown hair and electric blue eyes. For a long moment, the world seemed to stop, as he could see that all eyes were on him.

That's when the yellow car shifted, stood up, and transformed... Into a giant robot. One of the ones from the news recently? Cole couldn't tell, but he did note the look of utter shock on his face. "What on Earth," he breathed out sharply. "How did you...?"

As the other two cars followed suit, Cole shrank back slowly. His eyes darting from one robot to the other as his spark raced violently in his chest. Unable to find the words to explain his situation, he simply shook his head. The white and blue robot, and the red one with the spiky hair like appendages simply stood there - dumbstruck. But the yellow one tried his best to look friendly.

"Hey, it's alright, we're not going to hurt you," the robot attempted, keeping his voice and tone friendly. "We just have never seen-."

Noticing that their new forms gave him the opportunity to run, Cole began to run violently. Whatever this was, whatever he was, he didn't want this. He had enough that made him stand out as different. And now he was some sort of freak of nature too? With a possible connection to those robots on TV? No... No. This wasn't happening he told himself. He had to get out of there, and far away from all of this insanity.

He could hear them call after him as he turned into another alleyway. Hoping they couldn't follow him, he quickly turned the corner at the end, and disappeared. Refusing to stop running until he could figure this out.

* * *

A/N: So yep, we have a hybrid on our hands. Unlike most fics though this won't be a typical "Oh I'm super powered and special!" type of thing. This is going to be way deeper than that and go to some interesting places. So I hope that you will all stick around!


	2. Tests

**CHAPTER 2  
Tests  
**

"So can I just be the first to ask: what the pit was that!?"

Bumblebee gave a small optic roll at Sideswipe's outburst. Even if it was honestly what they all were thinking. Of course, Strongarm was the first to answer the question. "It looked like a... Youngling," she noted, crossing her arms as she leaned back. "But that doesn't make any sense. Humans can't transform, can they?"

Not a normal human, Bumblebee noted in his head. But something told him as they stood where they'd lost the human's spark signature, still searching for it, that this wasn't a normal human. "Not a normal human, anyway," Bumblebee replied honestly. "But clearly that's not a normal human... Did you both scan his bio signs when he turned back into one?"

"Yeah! The signature's were all over the place," Sideswipe pointed out. "He read biologically like a human. But I could see a spark and Energon in his veins... And blood too. I'm so confused!"

"With the way he reacted, so was he."

Strongarm nodded her head, pointing out something they hadn't thought of. "Well, if this kid somehow is... Half-and-half or whatever, he's fourteen, right?" she questioned, getting a nod from Bumblebee as confirmation. "Well fourteen to fifteen vorns is the typical time we undergo our first transformation."

"Wouldn't he know it was going to happen though?" Sideswipe suggested. "I mean, if this kid is somehow a hybrid of a Cybertronian and a human, or whatever? Wouldn't he know? That doesn't happen naturally, I mean... How would that even work?"

With that, Bumblebee definitely agreed. He couldn't imagine that this supposed hybrid was "born" the natural way, and that was what disturbed him. Who had created him? Decepticons? If it was a fringe group of them that raised the question as to why. But his working theory was the humans, given the age brackett. He certainly couldn't ignore the fact that him being fourteen years old clearly set his birth during, or after their first departure from Earth.

But if that was true, why hide it from them? And why didn't this kid grow up knowing he was some form of test tube baby, or most likely such?

The whole thing was giving the young leader a serious processor ache. "He's definitely some sort of experiment. But that raises the question of who made him and why," Bumblebee pointed out. "I also question why he was in "foster care" when someone like him should be with someone who was prepared for this situation."

Strongarm of course gave him a quizzical look. "What are you thinking lieutenant?"

"I'm thinking we need to find this kid soon. Because we need answers," Bumblebee explained. "Then I'm thinking we're going to need to have a talk with Agent Fowler."

"Ugh! Do we have to? That guy is so annoying!" Sideswipe groaned.

Bumblebee had started to reply when the signal appeared again. Signaling that somewhere in the large patch of desert they'd found themselves - the boy had transformed again. "There he is," Bumblebee replied. "I think his spark signature is only visible when he transforms. Something about his human form guards it."

That was when Strongarm gave the suggestion Bumblebee hadn't thought about. "Maybe he's an outlier. You know, like Mirage?" Bumblebee turned to her in surprise. "Think about it. Outliers can't really control their innate special abilities without training. He's probably always had it without knowing, that's why no one's ever detected him."

"And the shock of his first transformation is probably making it go haywire," Bumblebee nodded in agreement. "Good call, Strongarm."

"An outlier human hybrid," Sideswipe shook his head as they began to follow the signal. "This day can't get any stranger..."

The search hadn't taken much longer, as they found Cole a good thirty minutes later. And given he was in human form, it was clear that Strongarm had been right in her outlier theory. That was one mystery solved - but now came the hard part, getting him to come to them so they could solve other mysteries. Made especially hard by the fact he was sitting high up on a rock formation.

"So, who wants to go up there?" Sideswipe asked as they arrived. "I mean, I could try. But I'm not that good with kids."

Bumblebee however, had already held up a hand and started his way up to the rock formation. Not climbing up however, given he knew that would only startle the boy away. "Cole!" the boy's head shot up as he started to back away. "Wait! Cole it's OK. We're not here to hurt you, we just want to talk."

"Yeah right, you were gonna attack me before!"

"I know, I know. You probably felt cornered like that. But that wasn't what we meant to do," the boy made a small face in response to Bumblebee's answer. "Listen, will you be more open to talk if just I come up there? One-on-one, you and me. I'll even put down any weapons I have if it makes you feel better..."

There was a long silence, but he relaxed at the fact that Cole hadn't moved. "Only you," Cole replied. "Not the cop one. I don't want to go to jail."

Bumblebee gave the two a look to walk away before starting a careful climb up the formation. In total, it took a few minutes, but to his relief the boy hadn't run. "Well first of all, you're not going to jail. We already explained to the cops what probably happened," he explained, approaching the child carefully. "And secondly, you don't have to worry. We're the good guys. My name's Bumblebee."

The boy stood to his feet, looking him up and down. "Now that I look I can see the confusion. Did I... Did I turn into one of you?"

Bumblebee nodded his head slowly. "So you definitely didn't know this was going to happen?" Cole shook his head. "Yeah, it looked that way to me. I'm not really sure how that works... I've never seen a human do that before and I've been on Earth for a very long time."

Cole looked down nervously, his voice shaky as he spoke. "I don't know. It just happened. And I was so scared... I didn't mean to smash the school or anything," he promised the mech. "It just happened."

"I know, the first transformation can be scary," Bumblebee nodded. "And the fact it happened without you having any idea it would makes it worse. Cole, did you know... That..."

"I'm half-robot or something? No!" Cole shook his head. "I didn't even know my parents. Who would be around to tell me?"

Yep, this was definitely a test tube baby, Bumblebee figured. Holding up his hands, he carefully inched closer to the boy. "Listen, I know this is all very scary and confusing. But if you come with us, I think we can all find answers," by the look on his face, Cole didn't look too sure about that. "Hey, I promise. No one's going to hurt you."

"If I'm something you've never seen before, wouldn't you like... Try to dissect me?"

Bumblebee chuckled a little at that, amused by the fact he'd ever think about that. "Nah, maybe take a few blood samples. Run a few tests, but nothing like that," again, the boy still looked apprehensive. "Come on, you can't just stay out here forever. Running away doesn't solve anything."

Cole shook his head. "I don't even know you."

"No, but we share a species in common apparently," Cole pursed his lips at that. "And I'd never hurt a kid. So you don't have anything to be afraid of."

The boy looked at him silently - and as they stood there, he could only wait for a final answer.

* * *

"Did anyone get Fowler on the line?"

That was the first thing Cole heard upon arriving in Bumblebee's car mode to what he called their "base". It was a little surprising to find it was a junkyard (especially after a ride through the ground bridge), but all the same, Bumblebee was immediately greeted by a smaller, brown bot. "Hey! Welcome back! Did you find the source of the signal?"

As if on cue, the passengers side door popped open to let Cole out. Taking this as more than an invitation, he climbed out as Bumblebee transformed behind him. "That we did. Fix-It, this is Cole," Bumblebee motioned to him, while the only thing the boy could muster was a small wave. "He's going to be staying here until I get some answers about what the pit is going on. In the meantime, I want you to take some samples from him."

"Whoa!" Fix-It stared Cole up and down. "These aren't... Human readings I'm getting. Or at least not fully human."

"Yeah, welcome to us. Two hours ago." the red mech, Sideswipe, deadpanned from behind.

As if to reiterate the urgency, Bumblebee asked his question again. "And Fowler?"

"On his way," Fix-It replied, with a nod. "So uhhh... Hi, I'm Fix-It! Cole, was it? Come on, step into my lab."

"L-Lab?" Cole questioned nervously.

Of course, Bumblebee caught on immediately. No doubt knowing how that would sound to a kid who just found out he's half-alien. "Don't worry Cole, he's a friend. He's only going to take blood samples," he explained. "Isn't that right, Fix-It?"

Fix-It, still fixated on Cole at the moment, nodded his head. "Yeah, just blood samples. Though I'd also like to run a few scans if you're comfortable with that?" Cole looked nervously, not sure how he felt about that. "Don't worry, it's all paint-prain-painless. I can even do it here if you'd like."

Doing it out there? With a bunch of Autobots watching probably? Cole wasn't sure that helped much either. And so, he decided that either way, they were going to study his blood, so it was best to get it over with. "Alright, alright, where's the lab?" Cole questioned, as Fix-It carefully began to lead him. "You do this often, right?"

"What blood and Energon samples? Of course!" Fix-It replied. "But I'm not sure what to expect from this one."

Cole felt about the same way, though he relaxed significantly when the "lab" ended up looking not much like one. It was an open area of the junkyard, with some medical "berths", one of which the mech signaled for him to get on. "Alright, I'm gonna warn you, this is going to stu-str-sting!" Fix-It replied. "Only for a second though."

The teen didn't have time to ask for clarification before Fix-It had steadied his arm and stuck a small appendage from his arm into his own. Cole had to admit, he was amazed by the way that Fix-It didn't even seem to use a needle. "Primus! You are an anomaly, aren't you?" Fix-It began as he began to take the "blood" sample. "Your life source is almost a perfect fusion of both ours and a humans. In retrospect, the Energon inside it should be killing you. But it seems to be fueling you."

Cole tilted his head, not quite understanding what the small robot was getting at. "Maybe it has something to do with me turning into one of you guys?" Cole asked, causing more surprise to enter the robot's optics. "So, that guy, Bumblebee was right? I'm what... Half one of you guys?"

"I'll need to run tests on this... But that's also my best guess," Fix-It confirmed, his optic ridges raising in surprise. "I know you were pretty sr-so-scared about the scans. But if I'm going to figure out what this means. Those would help."

Cole looked thoughtfully down at the minibot as he removed the object from his arm. Just how far would these tests go, he wondered? But at the same time, he this one, Fix-It seemed friendly enough. "You won't do anything that makes me... Uncomfortable, right?" he asked. "I just don't want to be some sort of science experiment, or whatever."

It was ironic, because Cole, like Bumblebee, was starting to think that was exactly what he was. None-the-less, however, Fix-It carefully placed a hand on his knee and shook his head. "Absolutely not! I'll only do what I have to. And if you're in any pain... Just let me know," Cole nodded his head slowly. "Alright. Let me go get our on-base medic, First Aid to take a second look at your blood. Then we'll start on the scans."

As Fix-It rolled off to go and find this other robot, First Aid, Cole could only sit there quietly. What were they going to find out, he wondered? And would this finally answer the question that had bothered him for years: where he came from? A mountain of questions had already formed in his head, and something inside told him he wasn't going to like the answers.

* * *

A/N: I know, not much "excitement" this chapter. But next chapter - things start heating up, so stay tuned!


	3. Even More Questions

RID 2015 FAN: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it! And no, this is very new so definitely not a ghost here.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this fic so far! I'm so glad everyone seems to enjoy it!

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3  
Even More Questions**

"Sam Hill, and these scans came from a kid?"

Those words weren't exactly what Bumblebee was looking for from William Fowler. The by now older liaison to the Autobots was staring at the schematics from one of Fix-It's scans in wonder. Did this mean that the government had done this without his consent? Or this really was the work of Decepticons? "So you have no idea what this is?" Fowler shook his head. "This is the scans of a fourteen year old boy I watched transform from a Cybertronian to a human..."

Fowler's eyes bulged, staring at Bumblebee. "That's not possible..."

"Apparently it is," Bumblebee replied as he put his hands on his hips. "We just finished doing some research on him an hour ago. And it looks to everyone involved that he's somehow a hybrid - half Cybertronian, half human. And since that's not exactly possible through normal means."

Fowler immediately threw his hands up, already catching on. He took a step away from the computer screen slowly, crossing his arms. "Wait, you think we had something to do with this?" Bumblebee looked unsure of himself as the man spoke up. "I definitely had nothing to do with it. I mean... I'd think they'd tell me if they did. But I don't know for sure, after Ratchet left - you know I was out of the Autobot game for a while."

Bumblebee's doorwings lowered a bit. Of course, this was not helping at all. But it did make him feel assured that if this was the humans, none of his friends would have been behind this. "Well, until we're sure who's behind this. I'm requesting you get us temporary custody," he shook his head, being as blunt as he could. "Whoever did it was sparkless. What this kid's going through he'll need us to get through. Since no one prepared him."

"What he's "going through"?"

"He's hit our version of "puberty"," Bumblebee explained. "This whole thing happened because he transformed for the first time. Usually, we transform into our alt modes for the first time. But he activated his Cybertronian form for the first time instead... And that'd dangerous. You usually can't control your transformations, and any number of things could happen."

Fowler frowned - that didn't sound good to him clearly. But it was true, they had no idea when to expect Cole's next transformation, or what it would bring. He'd already unknowingly activated his weapons systems, after all. And they'd all seen how well that went. "How bad are we talking?"

"Enough to spook his foster parents," Bumblebee explained. "Or do damage... Apparently he activated his weapons systems without trying. Blew a hole in the wall of his school."

Fowler's eyes bulged, definitely understanding the scope of it all now. He scratched his chin a little, looking to be deep in thought. No doubt, there was a huge liability issue in letting Cole stay there. And Bumblebee had the feeling the boy wouldn't be too thrilled either. But at the moment, without answers as to how Cole was made, or any point of reference on how this new species worked... It was generally in everyone's best interest to keep Cole in Autobot custody.

At the very least, it meant they could help him control his transformations and answer his questions.

There was a deep sigh that erupted from Fowler's lips. "Alright, I'll see to it some forms are drawn out. I'm guessing you don't want this getting out until you know the full story?" Bumblebee nodded affirmatively. "That's a tall order, gotta at least tell my higher-ups."

"I have no problem with that," Bumblebee explained. "But until we know who created him. I think it's best you keep it between yourself and your superiors."

"I could probably get the "temporary custody" under Denny Clay," Fowler admitted. "As long as my higher-ups know we can keep it hush-hush then. While we investigate, anyway. If it's something to do with our government. It shouldn't be too hard to find out."

Bumblebee relaxed, that was definitely a relief. Though he also knew that he, and the other Autobots, would be launching their own investigation. Though more than likely it would be into the Decepticon possibility. If only because the last thing they wanted was to stir the pot of distrust in the government. "Thank you, Agent Fowler," Bumblebee replied. "If it makes you feel any better, you're not the only one who'll have to keep this from your government. For the time being."

"Not keen to tell the high council, huh?"

The warrior shook his head, definitely not keen on that. The new High Council may not have seemed corrupt, but he didn't know much about the mechs and femmes at the moment. And given that, he had no idea how they'd react to this. And he'd need a tactful way to approach it before he said anything. "Not until we know more... This is going to change things. Maybe everything," Bumblebee admitted. "I don't think it will cause trouble... But I can't be sure that they won't react badly."

"Especially if it was Decepticons that made him."

Yes, Bumblebee had to agree, especially if he were created by Decepticons.

* * *

Cole started to get nervous when they didn't let him go.

So when Bumblebee reappeared again at Fix-It's lab, he knew he wasn't going anywhere soon. Even before the tall, friendly looking yellow robot spoke, he knew that he was staying there. But he didn't fully know why, or whether or not he should be afraid. "So I guess I'm not going back to my foster home," Bumblebee tilted his head slightly in confusion. "It's almost sundown and you haven't come back with either of my foster parents."

The mech rubbed the back of his neck slowly. "Yeah, I don't think going back to your foster home is an option right now, Cole," he explained, trying to come off gentle as he said it. "That transformation wasn't the first or last time you're going to do it. And I want you to stay with us a little while... Learn to control it, learn to adapt. And then maybe we can talk about it."

"'Maybe'?" Cole questioned.

"Well, something like this... This is going to change a lot of things, Cole," Bumblebee explained honestly, taking a seat on one of the Transformer-sized berths to his side. "There's never been anything like you before. And once you're out there, someone's going to recognize you from that street."

Cole was starting to understand his point. They really did need answers, at least if Cole was going to resume normal life. Sure, they had established he was a hybrid of Cybertronian and human. But they hadn't established how he was made, why he was made, or what he was capable of. And that, at the end of the day, could scare a lot of people. "Well, I guess that's OK. I'm used to only being in one place a short time anyway," Cole explained. "I'm only ever in a foster home a year at a time."

Bumblebee looked perplexed by that. "You mean to tell me your foster homes only keep you one year?"

"Well, yeah. Every year, on my birthday, I get moved," Cole replied. "I'd only even been with these foster parents a few weeks... My birthday is October tenth."

Being it was November first, Cole could tell Bumblebee was even more confused. Cole didn't get why either, he'd always assumed that was how foster care worked. Wasn't it? "What? I'm in foster care. That makes sense, right?" Cole asked.

Bumblebee's doorwings drooped a bit in response. As if he were embarrassed to have to correct him. "We have a friend, Jack, who does foster parenting. And that doesn't sound like what he and his mate, Sierra do," he admitted, honestly. "In fact it sounds really strange, Cole."

That caused a pit to form in his stomach. He'd always felt like it all wasn't right, admittedly. Even if he'd assumed this was what foster care was like it was always strange. Anticipating leaving every year, the lack of connection with any foster parents... It was really just weird when he looked at it objectively. "I... Don't know what to say," Cole shook his head. "That's the only kind of life I've known. I was put in foster care when I was born."

Bumblebee gave a look that said "Of course you were." Cole simply rubbed his knees, unsure of what to say any more. The more he talked, the more his strange life seemed to be picked apart. "Well, it sounds like that sucks. So maybe you can think of this as a vacation!" Cole looked up in surprise, smiling a little at the enthusiasm in Bumblebee's voice. "And maybe a chance to make a connection with a part of yourself you didn't know about."

Licking the sides of his lips, Cole looked away for a moment. "Well I guess... But I don't know," he admitted. "Don't you have more things to worry about than this?"

Bumblebee looked as though he was trying not to laugh. He crossed his arms a little, and with a bit of a cheeky look on his face. "Well, not really. Considering this isn't exactly a small matter," he explained. "We have Decepticon fugitives to handle. But we still have time to handle training you. There's so many of us."

Of course, Cole had to remember the fact he was an anomaly now. Something totally unknown to the word until now. Not just a nobody from... Wherever he was actually born. "Alright," Cole replied as he stood up. "So when do we start? Because I'm pretty sure you don't want me blowing stuff up in here like I did back at school."

The Autobot smirked a little at that - perhaps finding humor in the joke. Or perhaps, Cole guessed, being polite. "Well I suggest we start tomorrow. You've had enough to take in today," he explained. "Right now, how about we just get you settled in? Should we be getting anything from your foster home?"

Cole wasn't really sure if he had anything he wanted from his old foster home. He didn't have a lot of things he owned, an iPod he got one birthday was at school, maybe some clothes, something which he did need. "Well my clothes are there. And I need my backpack from school... I have an iPod there."

Bumblebee, perhaps really starting to grasp how little he had to his name gave a small frown. But really, Cole wasn't looking for pity. "Well, alright. First thing I'll do is go find Fowler and see about getting those," he noted. "Then we'll go bring you to your room. I told our friend, Denny about you. And he'll be giving you somewhere to stay, if that's OK."

"I guess," Cole put his hands in his pockets. "He's not creepy or anything, right?"

Another chuckle came from Bumblebee. "Hardly, he's a dad himself," he replied honestly. "So don't worry too much about that. Everything's going to be fine."

And Cole really hoped he could trust him about that.

* * *

This kid had a really hard life.

Everything about him, Bumblebee noted, seemed strange. At least when it came to how he was raised. He absolutely knew that his foster care experience nearly screamed of a staged act - at least on the side of the adults. And his lack of any real possessions only made it stranger. It was like this boy had not had a single sole that really cared about him, and was simply being used by someone. It was a suggestion that made his tanks churn as he wondered just what he had gotten himself into.

The more he thought about it, the more lonely that existence sounded. Like Cole stood as an afterthought in so many people's lives, simply shuffled from one place to another. Something Bumblebee, having been a war orphan that lived on the streets for much of his life before joining the Autobots, knew too much about. And it made his spark go out to the boy more than he probably realized.

A part of him hoped that maybe he just read the situation wrong. Maybe Cole was in some different foster care program he'd never heard of... But at the same time, he knew that wasn't true. And if that was the case, and whoever had created him was behind his life... Well, they had to be pretty fragged up to do this to a kid.

"Lieutenant?" Bumblebee jumped, pulled from his thoughts by Strongarm as he stood looking over Cole's schematics one last time on the computer before recharge. "Are you OK? You're usually in recharge by now."

Bumblebee shifted a little, then turned to her with a nod of his head. "I'm fine, Strongarm. Today's just got me thinking about a lot of things," he admitted, placing his hands on his hips. "Cole in bed finally? I know Denny was having trouble convincing him to go."

"Yeah, I think he finally did," she replied. "Do you still want two people on patrol tonight, just in case?"

Bumblebee nodded his head. "Better to be safe than sorry. If we were able to detect him, so were any rogue 'Cons," he explained. "I'd rather not be surprised if one of them decides to come looking for him."

"Understandable. Sideswipe and I will take first watch," Strongarm replied. "Get some rest, sir. If you're going to start training him in the morning, you'll probably need it."

"I'm sure I'll be fine, cadet," Bumblebee nodded. "But thanks. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, lieutenant."

To be frank, Bumblebee was glad she'd interrupted him. Maybe now he could get his processor off of all of this long enough to get some recharge. After all, all of these mysteries would still be there in the morning.

* * *

A/N: Don't worry - if you wanted to see Cole and Denny interact I plan for some of that next chapter! Anyways, hope you all enjoyed.


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